"As #ebikes age, they are quickly turning to electronic waste destined for the scrap yard along with old laptops, tube monitors, and old cell phones. That is something the industry needs to be prepared for. I hope there is regulation that will require companies to support these products for a reasonable period of time."
"A step #ebike manufacturers need to take is to make their bike sustainable for the long term. An (insert sigh here) analog bike could last indefinitely with regular maintenance."
@seachanger
For some reason goverments just can't take the obvious step of requiring the manufacturers and vendors to provide the reverse logistics for every product they sell.
If they can build a logistics supply chain that brings raw materials together as a product and puts it in the buyers hands, they could take it back from the buyer at end of life, and end up with raw materials again.
I guess I'm somewhat of an expert on #eBikes at this point, but I'm kinda surprised they don't already have some resources they could ask about this. 😏
the CHP e-bike safety training at least seems straightforward about actual hazards of #eBikes (such as unexpected motor activation while stopped) and not dripping with moral panic and ignorance.
@cyclingelectric My kids will never get that many bikes back in it. The front bike no problem, but if they want the middle bike the front bike needs to come out and won't get put back. Woe be to the person who wants the back bike. It also doesn't have space for a trailer, tandem or cargo bike. I have to give it a fail to be useful for the job.
HEADLINE: "Concerns grow over safety of e-bikes amid reports of accidents"
We are now entering an era of some amazing pearl clutching over #ebikes.
Of course E-bike accidents are on the rise. More riders=more accidents. Worsened by the fact that drivers are not only used to (but also outright refuse) sharing the road with anyone else, let alone e-bikes.
Any deviation or challenge to car-dominance triggers a super weird victim blaming reflex with headlines like "Teen boy killed in E-bike crash" to describe a teen ebike rider getting hit by a multi-ton cargo van.
ClEArly the BiKe'S FauLT. Fantastic journalism. Call it a day!
@JulieEmery Seems to me they’re using Bafang motors. I’d prefere Bosch or Shimano for repairs and spares parts. I know that Bafang has some spares too, but I think they don’t have trainings for mechanics as Bosch and Shimano do. Also check you have a local bike shop that is able to fix and service the bike. Ebikes are ridden more and weight more so service is typically needed more than just once on a year.
did some shopping on our Rad Bikes today. were immediately approached by an elderly couple asking "how do you like your Rad Bikes??", so we shared how much we love them.*
the reason they were familiar with the brand was that a lot of their friends apparently had bought a Rad Bike over the past year, and every single one of them just loves it.
<eeeexcellent>
I am not earning a commission, although maybe I should be. 😅
@robyn glad for them. I was caught in the RadWagon4 problem, where they told me I shouldn’t bike my bike for nine months. Customer service was pretty bad and waiting nine months was… a fail. You get what you pay for. Still riding my Rad, but… not thrilled.
This GMAC tandem is my first big hub motor and wow, this thing goes! I still need to test it on a steep hill fully loaded but it just delivers power where the bbs02 on my edgerunner would have me so busy managing shifting. I have 250 and 350W 36V geared hub motor #eBikes, but did not expect the amount of thrust (this is the "slow" winding in a 20in wheel so it has all of the torques.)
@enobacon Nice! Yeah I ran a few models in that tool and saw the profile is VERY different than mine, particularly at higher voltages. I'm planning on selling my truck this month and using some of the cash to make some ebike upgrades. I'd originally considered buying a new ebike, but I couldn't find any that offered regen.
people are like: "Bikes are nice if you have time, I have to drive my kid to school."
taking my kid to school on #eBikes + #CargoBikes = 8min round-trip 😎
@CurtAdams we would need to legalize that for the first five grades though, at least in Oregon, children under 10 cannot be "unattended". See also child helmet law that makes it illegal to ride a bike
@flub I'm talking German bike lanes here. So, when in doubt, too narrow, not well maintained. And speed diff inner city would be less on the road where cars go max. 55ish, on avg often less then 40. Average non-e-bike is below 20.
Sure, better bike lanes would be ideal. But that'll take years/decades longer than allowing 35km/h e-bikes.
@fabian Nevertheless, if you say they can't use bike lanes you just encourage more car use because people don't feel safe. I'm fine with giving people the choice to choose the bike lane or not though (also should be so for normal bikes).
Also, you don't have to do 35km/h. I also adopt my cycling speed to the circumstances just like I do with my car driving speed.
I recommended this bike a while ago, the Cannondale Compact Neo. I take it back; reliability has been awful. Currently on my way back to the shop with it and then I’ll donate it. #EBikes#Cannondale#BikeTooter
@fbaum@marcprecipice@amd dang, my radrunner was (edit) $2030 (with a front basket and passenger bars, edit btw you can get cable-actuated hydraulic brakes for under $100) with mechanical brakes and that was less than a year ago. The rei at least has a trigger shifter with its 7-speed "megarange [i.e. that last step's a doozy]" freewheel (who has the 11-52 8, 9, or 10sp cassettes though? also IDK why hub motors with no torque arms)